Doug Basham
Doug Basham is a progressive radio talk show host from Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. He recently started broadcasting a special Saturday morning show with the former star of the hit sit-com "Too Close For Comfort" Lydia Cornell, as his co-host. Career Doug has spent the majority of his life as an entertainer. After earning his degree in classical piano while still in high school, (combining this with teaching drums and percussion), Doug began his show business career as a singer/musician. “I seldom attended my own school dances because I was off playing at other schools,” he recalled. Before too long, he made the switch from musician to magician, and toured extensively as a magic-comedian. In that capacity, he was the opening act for some of the dates in Ricky Nelson’s ‘Garden Party Comeback Tour,’ and later opened for zany comedian Jim Carrey, when Carrey was still performing his impressionist act. In the late 1980s, Basham was voted 'Variety Entertainer of the Year' in the 'Excellence in the Arts Awards.' Basham's first radio show was a video review show on KDWN, Las Vegas called "Video Talk." That led to him becoming a political talk show host. After a period at KDWN (in Las Vegas) receiving the highest ratings of any other host on the station including nationally syndicated ones, Basham was abruptly fired in 2002. They told him he "spent too much time bashing the president." Basham then moved his show to KLAV AM 1230 for the next year and a half, until he was approached for syndication. On May 2, 2005, Radio Lynx began syndicating the program, broadcasting weeknights from 10 p.m. - 1 a.m. Pacific Time. Goals Basham’s goal can be summed up in this statement - “My overall agenda is to demonstrate why America must never elect a republican administration again… ever.” Listening to Basham’s show, it doesn’t take long to conclude this remark was not made jokingly. Billing himself as the ‘Aggressive Progressive,’ Doug vociferously rejects the notion that any criticism of a republican President or administration (especially one that has failed as miserably as he contends this Bush administration has) is somehow ‘anti-American’ or ‘unpatriotic.’ On the contrary, Basham contends (and strongly) that if a person love this country, he/she cannot support this administration. Basham says, “The mission statement of my show pertains to an oft heard phrase, ‘I want my country back.’ I counter that if people truly want to take their country back, they must take their media back first, because currently - like other entities in this country - it’s become a conservative, corporatized aberration, controlled by people with more of a ‘political agenda’ than a ‘news’ agenda. And this is where I come in.” Interviews Basham's show boasts as stellar a guest line-up as any other radio show in the country, and because Doug cares enough about his guests, he conducts in-depth research on every guest prior to their appearance. If a guest has written a book, Doug is one of the few interviewers who actually reads the entire book, staying up the night before the interview in order to complete it. The lack of sleep pays off however, as many guests have said their interview with Basham was the best they've ever conducted, including 4-time guest Pat Buchanan, (surprising perhaps, seeing as Doug and Pat are 180 degrees apart on political ideology). And of course, guests who are on the same political page as Doug feel even stronger than Mr. Buchanan does. Guests Some of Doug’s guests have included: * Lou Dobbs: Anchor of Lou Dobbs Tonight on CNN. * Terry McAuliffe: Former DNC Chair and Chairman of Hillary 2008 Campaign. * Gerry Spence: One of America's most renowned attorneys. * Democratic Senator, Byron Dorgan, author of the new book Take This Job and Ship It. * James Meigs, editor in chief of Popular Mechanics magazine, editor of the new book Debunking 9-11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can’t Stand Up To The Facts. * John Dean, former Nixon counsel, author of the new book Conservatives Without Conscience. * Jack Carter, son of President Jimmy Carter, running for the U.S. Senate in Nevada. * Pat Buchanan, author of the new book State of Emergency. This is Pat’s fourth appearance on Basham Radio. * Crystal Woodman-Miller, Columbine survivor, author of the book Marked For Life. * Retired Lt. General William Odom, whose recent column was titled Cut and Run? You Bet?” External links * Official Website * Doug & Lydia's Website * Basham, Doug